A group of schoolboys were victims of an unprovoked attack while out skateboarding in Beckton.

The boys, aged 14 and 15, were together in a car park at Gallions Reach between 4:30pm and 5pm on May 7 when they were approached by a group of 15 boys and girls.

One of the victims, a 14-year-old boy, was sitting outside McDonalds when he was asked by the gang where he was from.

After answering, one of the assailants picked up a spanner that he was using and struck him across the face with it. He fell to the ground and was repeatedly kicked by the suspect, who shouted, “give me your stuff”.

The victim did not respond during the attack, which ended when the group walked off in the direction of a nearby bus stop.

His friends dispersed and have not been back to the area since the incident. The victim sustained bruising to his ear and pain on the left side of his face, but did not need hospital treatment.

The suspect is described as a black boy, aged about 14, and around 5ft 5in tall. He was wearing a navy blue tracksuit with “Duffer” in yellow across the front.

The mother of one of the boys, who wished to remain anonymous, said her son emerged from the confrontation with cuts and bruises.

She said: “They said they ‘owned’ Gallions Reach and that they shouldn’t be there.

“You hear about gangs around here but you don’t want it to rule their lives. You should be allowed to let them out without worrying about what’s going to happen.

“He’s just trying to put it out of his head now.”